Utah Court Rules on Paternity Case

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A Utah court ruled Thursday that a man
whose wife continued artificial insemination during their marriage
separation and later gave birth to a son is not the child's legal
father.

The Utah Court of Appeals reversed a trial court's ruling that
ordered Ricky D. Krambule to pay child support for his ex-wife's
son, Matthew.

In reversing the decision, the appellate court said Barbara
Krambule lost her right to request child support under the terms of
the artificial insemination agreement by not asking for it in the
original divorce proceeding.

``Barbara had full knowledge that she was pregnant as a result
of the insemination procedure at the time she executed the
stipulated settlement which deliberately omitted any obligation for
Rick to pay child support for Matthew,'' Judge James Z. Davis
wrote.

The Krambules tried in 1990 to have a second child through
artificial insemination with donated sperm, but the following year,
they separated.

Matthew was conceived two months after the separation.

Under their 1992 divorce agreement, Ricky Krambule was not
expected to support the child.

But Barbara Krambule asked the court for child support four
years later, saying there had been a ``material change of
circumstances'' - Matthew's birth. She asked the court to declare
Krambule the legal father, saying the court never ruled on the
paternity of the child.

The trial court granted her request, but the appeals court ruled
that Mrs. Krambule had waived her right to demand child support.